Never Made Me Cry Before
Feb. 10th, 2011 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wwcitizenXbox games are typically very fun. There are racing games, exercise games (we have the Kinect!), first-person shooters, and some minor role playing games. There have been very few Xbox games that have made me want to keep playing and playing. Fallout New Vegas (FNV) was one of those few games.
FNV has held my attention and time for the last 3-4 weeks. I had no idea how deeply it would affect me in the least when I started the game. At the end of the game, whether because of the time and efforts I invested, the late nights, and fits of insomnia I endured while figuring out what to do next, but at the end of the game, I literally shed some tears. Maybe it was because I didn't want the game to be "over" or because my in-game companions' and new world's futures were much brighter than I ever anticipated. Not sure. But when the credits rolled, I pulled out a couple of tissues, which has never, ever happened before.
I love role playing games. Back in the day, well before computer-based video games, I was playing text-based games where you discovered a castle or a landscape. You "looked" around a room, picked up items, weapons, food, etc., and discovered - in your mind - things and character along a specific quest. Very few games, if any, changed much as you moved through them, and none of them changed an outcome of the game to the degree that FNV does.
FNV is a special class of role playing game, which allows the player freedom to roam around a world s/he is discovering. The world (the environment, the people, and the animals) all react to the player on many different levels. FNV allows you to decide your and the new world's fate along the way, but you realize the impact your decisions had only at the very end. BUT because it's an Xbox game, you can start over and change your perspectives on the world and how you deal with the world to affect a different outcome altogether. Also, since it's an Xbox game, during game play, you can save the game before making crucial decisions; if you don't like a particular outcome, you can change your decision and rethink / redo what you've done within minutes.
There were a couple of things that bothered me about the game play. Namely, the myriad of glitches and technical problems. The game froze frequently when I walked through a doorway and the game was auto-saving. Toward the end of the game, I noticed that when I had picked up a weapon or a food item, it didn't always show up in my inventory; a few times, I dropped something - on purpose - but couldn't find it again, even though I saw it drop. Also, there was one point close to the end where I lost my dog during a fight. He was nowhere to be found around me on the screen, although he showed up on my radar as right next to me. I had to save, get out of the game, and reload it in order for him to appear next to me; by that point I had already spent about 45 minutes trying to get back out of a building to be able to find my dog, but I couldn't get out of the building in the time line. There were quite a few times that my body got stuck in something and I had to revert back to a previous save, which was often highly inconvenient and I had to retrace my steps for about 30-45 minutes or start up a quest again. I got used to saving often - especially in the middle of a fight. OH, and the BIGGEST glitch was with the "Mysterious Stranger" perk. That perk is awesome on the one hand. It's REALLY cool and very helpful when you're aiming at someone for the kill, this ghost fellow would pop out with a fully loaded gun and shoot down whoever you'd aimed at. More often than not the closer to the end that I got, my game play would hang while the action kept playing out on the screen; i.e. I couldn't do anything but watch as I became overcome with my enemies and died while the mysterious stranger stood there immobile not shooting anyone else that was attacking me. That was HIGHLY frustrating!!
Game start date: Takes place during the year 2281, 204 years after the Great War of 2077
Final date in my game: April 16, 2282 (about "1 year" after I get pulled out of a grave)
Actual real time investment: 242 hours, 33 minutes, and 31 seconds (over 3+ weeks)
My Stats & Experience behind the cut
Experience
Energy Weapons: 50
Explosives: 42
Guns: 70
Lockpick: 100
Medicine: 45
Melee: 50+
Repair: 45
Science: 65
Speech: 84
Survival: 86
Unarmed: 54
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (aspects)
Strength: 10(+)
Perception: 6
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 3(-) - due to my Brotherhood of Steel armor
Luck: 6 (even though I kept losing karma throughout the game - never understood karma here)
Societal Perceptions
Boomers: Idolized
Caesar's Legion: Vilified
Followers of the Apocalypse: Liked
Freeside: Liked
Goodsprings: Neutral
Great Khans: Merciful Thug
NCR (New California Republic): Wild Child/Dark Hero
Novac: Idolized
Powder Gangers: Vilified
The Strip: Smiling Troublemaker
White Glove Society: Vilified
Membership
I became a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, which I felt was a great honor. There was no ceremony or fanfare, but it was a really cool feeling to think it possible to be bestowed such an honor. Silly, I know - it's a game - but it felt kinda real.
Companions
Craig Boone
Rex (a wonderfully smart mongrel newly outfitted with a Legion dog's brain for improved improved endurance)
Companions' Outcomes
BOONE'S: The "NCR withdraws from the region and he manages to find peace. Boone remains in New Vegas, finding work as a security guard and caravan scout along the highways. While he might have preferred rejoining his old unit, Boone can't bring himself to abandon the city where he'd met his wife."
REX'S: Rex received "a transplant of Lupa's brain, Rex gained all of the donor's experiences traveling with the Legion. These melded well with his own memories of the Legion, and his new mind quickly adjusted to the myriad memories."
The Fallout New Vegas Vault Wiki
Some videos that show game play, if you're interested:
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x-1fm2cq8
Walk-through of a town and into a quest (Come Fly With Me):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNd7w2drS_o
Walk-through on gathering snow globes (a silly side quest that results in 14,000 caps (dollars in that world).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UImpfi5BBdQ
Walk-through of playing Caravan - a card game developed specifically for the game, which I played once and got confused:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorCJkgie_s
I loved this game. If it hadn't had so many glitches and problems, it would have probably been the best game I've ever played hands down. Even with the glitches, I would recommend this game. Well worth the effort and involvement. One thing I wish I'd done more of was play Caravan early on to get money for better weapons and armor, but that didn't happen.
FNV has held my attention and time for the last 3-4 weeks. I had no idea how deeply it would affect me in the least when I started the game. At the end of the game, whether because of the time and efforts I invested, the late nights, and fits of insomnia I endured while figuring out what to do next, but at the end of the game, I literally shed some tears. Maybe it was because I didn't want the game to be "over" or because my in-game companions' and new world's futures were much brighter than I ever anticipated. Not sure. But when the credits rolled, I pulled out a couple of tissues, which has never, ever happened before.
I love role playing games. Back in the day, well before computer-based video games, I was playing text-based games where you discovered a castle or a landscape. You "looked" around a room, picked up items, weapons, food, etc., and discovered - in your mind - things and character along a specific quest. Very few games, if any, changed much as you moved through them, and none of them changed an outcome of the game to the degree that FNV does.
FNV is a special class of role playing game, which allows the player freedom to roam around a world s/he is discovering. The world (the environment, the people, and the animals) all react to the player on many different levels. FNV allows you to decide your and the new world's fate along the way, but you realize the impact your decisions had only at the very end. BUT because it's an Xbox game, you can start over and change your perspectives on the world and how you deal with the world to affect a different outcome altogether. Also, since it's an Xbox game, during game play, you can save the game before making crucial decisions; if you don't like a particular outcome, you can change your decision and rethink / redo what you've done within minutes.
There were a couple of things that bothered me about the game play. Namely, the myriad of glitches and technical problems. The game froze frequently when I walked through a doorway and the game was auto-saving. Toward the end of the game, I noticed that when I had picked up a weapon or a food item, it didn't always show up in my inventory; a few times, I dropped something - on purpose - but couldn't find it again, even though I saw it drop. Also, there was one point close to the end where I lost my dog during a fight. He was nowhere to be found around me on the screen, although he showed up on my radar as right next to me. I had to save, get out of the game, and reload it in order for him to appear next to me; by that point I had already spent about 45 minutes trying to get back out of a building to be able to find my dog, but I couldn't get out of the building in the time line. There were quite a few times that my body got stuck in something and I had to revert back to a previous save, which was often highly inconvenient and I had to retrace my steps for about 30-45 minutes or start up a quest again. I got used to saving often - especially in the middle of a fight. OH, and the BIGGEST glitch was with the "Mysterious Stranger" perk. That perk is awesome on the one hand. It's REALLY cool and very helpful when you're aiming at someone for the kill, this ghost fellow would pop out with a fully loaded gun and shoot down whoever you'd aimed at. More often than not the closer to the end that I got, my game play would hang while the action kept playing out on the screen; i.e. I couldn't do anything but watch as I became overcome with my enemies and died while the mysterious stranger stood there immobile not shooting anyone else that was attacking me. That was HIGHLY frustrating!!
Game start date: Takes place during the year 2281, 204 years after the Great War of 2077
Final date in my game: April 16, 2282 (about "1 year" after I get pulled out of a grave)
Actual real time investment: 242 hours, 33 minutes, and 31 seconds (over 3+ weeks)
My Stats & Experience behind the cut
Experience
Energy Weapons: 50
Explosives: 42
Guns: 70
Lockpick: 100
Medicine: 45
Melee: 50+
Repair: 45
Science: 65
Speech: 84
Survival: 86
Unarmed: 54
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (aspects)
Strength: 10(+)
Perception: 6
Endurance: 6
Charisma: 6
Intelligence: 6
Agility: 3(-) - due to my Brotherhood of Steel armor
Luck: 6 (even though I kept losing karma throughout the game - never understood karma here)
Societal Perceptions
Boomers: Idolized
Caesar's Legion: Vilified
Followers of the Apocalypse: Liked
Freeside: Liked
Goodsprings: Neutral
Great Khans: Merciful Thug
NCR (New California Republic): Wild Child/Dark Hero
Novac: Idolized
Powder Gangers: Vilified
The Strip: Smiling Troublemaker
White Glove Society: Vilified
Membership
I became a member of the Brotherhood of Steel, which I felt was a great honor. There was no ceremony or fanfare, but it was a really cool feeling to think it possible to be bestowed such an honor. Silly, I know - it's a game - but it felt kinda real.
Companions
Craig Boone
Rex (a wonderfully smart mongrel newly outfitted with a Legion dog's brain for improved improved endurance)
Companions' Outcomes
BOONE'S: The "NCR withdraws from the region and he manages to find peace. Boone remains in New Vegas, finding work as a security guard and caravan scout along the highways. While he might have preferred rejoining his old unit, Boone can't bring himself to abandon the city where he'd met his wife."
REX'S: Rex received "a transplant of Lupa's brain, Rex gained all of the donor's experiences traveling with the Legion. These melded well with his own memories of the Legion, and his new mind quickly adjusted to the myriad memories."
The Fallout New Vegas Vault Wiki
Some videos that show game play, if you're interested:
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x-1fm2cq8
Walk-through of a town and into a quest (Come Fly With Me):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNd7w2drS_o
Walk-through on gathering snow globes (a silly side quest that results in 14,000 caps (dollars in that world).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UImpfi5BBdQ
Walk-through of playing Caravan - a card game developed specifically for the game, which I played once and got confused:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AorCJkgie_s
I loved this game. If it hadn't had so many glitches and problems, it would have probably been the best game I've ever played hands down. Even with the glitches, I would recommend this game. Well worth the effort and involvement. One thing I wish I'd done more of was play Caravan early on to get money for better weapons and armor, but that didn't happen.
